Chapter Thirty-Six: Apologies
YEAR STAR STAR: MONTH TWINK: DAY 11
"OH MY WHAT THE FLOOR-" Geno yells as he trips onto the hotel floor. When teleporting out of the Silent Realm, he was facing the floor, and ultimately fell on it.
Link had encountered the opposite problem: He was facing the ceiling, and accidentally rammed his head into it, destroying the ceiling. "…Well hello there, ladies." Link says through the ceiling with his muffled voice before Geno pulls him out of the ceiling.
The other heroes seem to escape from the Silent Realm without any hassles. As gentle as a feather would, they landed on the floor regularly. "Heehee, Geno fell on his face!" Adelenn giggles, pointing at him while bouncing up and down. "Sure did. Poor Lightweight can't handle his own lightness." Lupo smirks. "Ha, ha. Very funny, guys." Geno frowns, dusting dirt from his clothes.
They take a look around the area they had warped to. It was the exact same room that Rosie (or who they know as Dee) used to send them to the Silent Realm in the first place. "So we made it full circle…" Vivian wonders. As a shadow, she scouts the areas by elongating her body. Her conclusion was that they were back in their own dimension. "Yeah, this is our world. Home sweet home." Vivian smiles with relief.
"Woohoo! We're back!" Mario smiles, throwing his hand up in success. Looking forward into what he needs to do next, Mario kindly asks Vivian for the Magical Map. The Crystal Sun was still inside of the Helping Hand. This gives Mario some hope, because the enemy could have ran away with it.
"I'm sorry Fi was being a little jerk. She's like that sometimes. She says she has a bipolar disorder." Link states. Everyone shakes their head. "You don't have to be sorry. It's not like you were the one who made Fi like that." Jaraberutzu says. "RAWR!" RAWR agrees. "Sol Absol Sol." Soulola hugs Link's foot to make him feel better (while also gnawing on it for a bit).
"That Fi spirit was really putting me on edge. I should've slapped her." Patricia mutters. "Well it's a good thing you didn't: She's sure to get you back if you retaliate with force." Link chuckles nervously. "Anyways, we should focus on getting that Crystal Sun. If anything, we should focus on that."
"You won't… need to look too far." Says a feminine voice.
Everyone turns around to see Rosie at the entrance of their hotel room. She was sitting down, and looked depressed. "Dee!" Geno points at her, readying a Geno Whirl. "MY LOVE! NOTICE ME, SEMPAI!" Jaraberutzu squeals at the top of her lungs. The other heroes were not amused by her presence. "Ohh, it's the bunny lady who was nice to us and then sent us to a bad place. Now she's the EVIL bunny lady!" Adelenn shouts, snapping her fingers and readying her scythe.
"No… you don't have to fight… I've given up on killing you." She says, burrowing her head further between her legs. "There's no point in being a criminal anymore if you're going to murder people… All I wanted to do was help my grandma… but it was never my intention to harm others."
"W-what? You don't want to fight us anymore?" Link sheathes the Master Sword. Rosie shakes her head. "No, I don't. It's inhumane! It's truly evil! Why would I ever want to steal someone else's chance at a good life? Never! I could never do it!" Rosie says, sobbing softly.
"My name is Rosie Cleaver. I am the seventh Death of Lust. I do not represent so proudly. This power is truly disgusting; the power of a Succubus is just… too cruel. I became a Death for one reason… my Grandmother. Grandma is such a sweet person to me, and I love her more than anything in this world. But she hasn't been faring well. She lost her house and her job because a man cheated her out of both. Now, she's sick and dying. She's in the hospital now, but it won't be good if she stays there. I decided that I could help; that's when I was asked to do some criminal work… I'm such a terrible person." Rosie explains, Shifting towards the middle of the room.
"For two years, I've been trying to get money to help my grandmother buy a house. To do that, I would incite lust into my prey, and have them give money to me. Never before had I tried to kill someone to gain a paycheck. I was told to do it… and I immediately regretted doing so. I'm so happy you ten are still alive. Never has anyone talked to me with so much respect and gratitude… I thank you for that."
Everyone was puzzled. To them, it sounds as if Rosie was being forced to kill the heroes. However, her attitude earlier was as if it was she who was conducting this plan. None of them really knew what to do about this. "You… are a Succubus. Your powers are frighteningly useful. You do know that job is now illegal, right? If you tried to get paid for it you'd be arrested." Geno states. "You deceived us, tricked us, and tried to kill us. Why should we forgive yo-"
Link proceeds to kneel down next to Rosie. He strokes her hair one time. "Hey, it's okay. You were trying to help your grandmother. We've all had some type of love for our grandparents. I can't blame you." He states. Link himself was about to cry, but tried to stay cheerful. "I know the feeling of losing family. But we can help you."
He then proceeds to hug Rosie to make her feel better, and holds in his tears. "If you want us to, we'll help your grandmother. You won't have to do any more crimes. You won't even have to put yourself in danger if you like. Live with us and we'll take care of you. Rosalina's a nice person! I'm sure you'll grow to be a great person with her around to guide you." Link smiles.
"Wh-wha…?" Rosie does not understand. Why was Link not upset with her for nearly killing him? He was the main target. With him out of the way, the rest would have been lost and confused. Why was he the one who was sympathetic? He should have gotten angry at her. He had every right to attack her for what she had done to him.
"…Thank you." Rosie smiles, hugging Link back warmly. In return, Rosie hands Link a Crystal Sun of a yellow color. It was the one they were seeking. "This Crystal Sun is called Vanilla Sundae. It produces food when you are in a pinch. It's quite useful if you need the energy to continue." Before Rosie could finish explaining it, Link attempts to test it out while continuing to hug Rosie. Like she said, the Crystal Sun produced a chicken thigh, and Link eats it with delight.
"Aherm." Patricia clears her throat. Link disembarks from the hug and picks Rosie up. "I do have to say, your powers are pretty cool. Just don't abuse them; you could get in trouble." Link states with his mouth full. Rosie nods her head and smiles. "Yessir! I'll do my best to help your Rosalina as much as I can!"
"…Wow. Well done." Mario claps his hands slowly, praising Link for his efforts. "Sol!" Soulola smiles, happy that she is about to make a new friend. RAWR was also happy. But most of all, Adelenn was happy. She squeals and picks Rosie up, and continues to hug her. "YAAY! Now I have a new friend!" She shouts aloud, almost crushing Rosie's spine. "Ow…" She says, but smiles anyway.
"Let's go home. We'll take the Warp Pipe around here." Mario whispers. Everyone looks at Mario. "…There was a Warp Pipe here this whole time!?" Lupo growls. "No, you don't understand! It's a one-way Warp Pipe! It can only take us back to Rogueport, but not to Poshley Heights! We'll just take it, okay?" Mario panics, waving his hand furiously. Unfortunately for him, Patricia yanks him by the ear and forces him to give directions while being dragged by his ear.
LATER…
"Hi, Mommy~!" Adelenn shouts happily as she enters the Cosmic Observatory. Rosalina and Marvisshla were there to greet the heroes; they sat at a table and drank some apple juice together while waiting for them. "My baby!" Marvisshla smiles, hugging Adelenn tightly. "Are you all safe? Do any of you need medical attention of any kind?" She inspects everyone for wounds.
"They seem to be alright. However, they neglected to use my device." Rosalina wonders. She wasn't upset that nobody used their wrist device, but was instead puzzled about something else. "You seem to have traveled to the Silent Realm during your travels. You met a celestial intelligence named Fi, who is the spirit of the Master Sword. You came back from the Silent Realm shortly after and came here." Rosalina states. "Of course, I only guessed this from the source of your mana and aura. I can't be certain."
"…That was spot-on, Mama." Geno chuckles. "I see. And I sense that you have brought one of the Deaths here, as well. Why?" She wonders. "She does not seem particularly malicious at the moment… Why don't you speak to me, young Death?"
Rosie introduces herself to Rosalina. "…Hello. My name is Rosie Cleaver. I am one of the Echoed. I'm 27 years old and I used to be a Death of Lust, but I didn't like what I was doing. I came here to apologize on my behalf, and I would like to work with you instead. I want to support my grandmother and build her a house while she's recovering in the hospital." Rosie explains. "I'm also quite a bit of a fan of this green-hatted guy you call Link. He's nice and friendly." She blushes.
Rosalina laughs. "Hahaha… Of course. You are allowed to assist me around the Observatory. I appreciate your help, and you will be rewarded greatly each day for your work. I promise you that. And as for the man clad in green… he is a very sociable and intelligent creature. He is also one you can trust with your life." She smiles. "I am Rosalina. You may call me by name or 'Aunt Rosa' if you please."
Mario excuses himself so that he can put the Yellow Crystal Sun in place. "Now, before I can trust you completely… I will ask you one question." Rosalina states as a condition. "…Do you know anything about your previous leader?"
"No… only the fact that he wants to open this Thousand-Year Door. He might know what's behind it, but I'm not sure what it is in the slightest." Rosie says.
Rosalina pauses for a moment. "…I see. You speak the truth. You do not shake when you speak. You lift your head up and have proper body language when confessing… you are trustworthy." She smiles. "Really!? Thank you so much!" Rosie squeals happily. "I'll make sure to do whatever you ask me to do! I'll make you and my grandmother proud!"
"That would certainly help us." Marvisshla notes. "Rosie is very intelligent, Marvisshla. She seems to possess extreme persuasive abilities unlike any other. She is also honest with her every answer." Rosalina exclaims to her.
"Yeah, Mommy! Rosie's gonna be really helpful 'cuz she's a bunny lady." Adelenn states seriously. "Certainly gonna help me… tonight." Jaraberutzu smiles mischievously, only to be hit by Patricia. "Don't be stupid. We still have to go find three more of those Crystal Suns. Then you can be lazy or whatever you do on your free time." Patricia growls. "Aw maaaan… I want my bunny lady now." Jaraberutzu moans.
"Rosie is EVERYBODY'S bunny lady, Jara!" Adelenn states, which results in immediate laughter from Geno.
Mario comes back with the Magical Map in hand. He shows a confused look on his face as he walks towards them. "Wh-what?" Mario scratches his mustache. "This place I've never seen before… where is it?"
The place that was shown before Mario was nearby Rogueport. It was a dank cave, filled with all sorts of little gir-
…Wait, wrong script. Bobbert mixed them up again. I swear, I'll sue him for messing with these stories.
Ah, here it is.
It was indeed near Rogueport. It was a giant Pinball machine. Mario looks at it a bit closer and realizes that he has been there before, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember the name itself, or how he came across it. The color of this Crystal Sun was a teal color.
"Whatever it is, it sure looks interesting for a Crystal Sun to be. A giant Pinball machine, and it's close to here. We just need to take a driv-"
Before Mario could finish his sentence, Rosalina shoots him a look of murder. "Uhhh… we can use the invention of… the wheel! To… get there… hehe." He nervously chuckles. "Uh… Aunt Rosa… don't be mad at Mario. All he wants is a car." Marvisshla smiles, flapping her wings against Rosalina to blow a calm wind towards her.
"…Alright. You may have a vehicle to travel with." Rosalina says reluctantly. With a wave of her mysterious wand, she produces a car similar to a SUV on planet Earth. "You may take it with you on your journey. I know where you must go. What place it is, you must find out for yourself."
"Thanks, Rosalina. You're the best!" Vivian gives her a thumbs-up. "I try my best to help my children and close relatives. It is you who I should be thanking for making my life more thrilling and exciting… even if cars are involved." She smiles. "Now go. An… interesting future awaits you."
LATER…
Adelenn, as usual, throws her head outside of the window and immediately starts howling like a puppy due to the beautiful breeze that passes by when the car moves. "Rawr." RAWR smiles, happy that Adelenn was enjoying herself. "Sol?" Soulola wondered why Link was asleep, and kept tugging at his pointy ear. Somehow, he lay upon the laps of both Patricia and Jaraberutzu, and each of them reflect dirty looks at each other.
Mario was driving the car, and Geno rode as passenger. The others stood in the back out of recommendation. "So this Crystal Sun's gotta be inside of a tiny pinball machine? That's odd." Geno wonders.
"Who said anything about the Pinball machine being tiny?" Mario replies, focusing on the road ahead of him as he darts past Bullet Bills and Bob-Ombs. "Well, what other size is a pinball machine gonna be, Mario? Seriously, don't act clever." Geno puffs, laying back down in the seat.
"It'd certainly be interesting to see what this magical pinball machine is." Patricia says as the car passes by an enormous ditch. "…Also, the amount of Bob-Ombs on this road is getting higher. Wonder why?"
"I think it's because of our destination." Mario assumes. "Someone doesn't want us there, huh? Sounds typical of some cliché villain." Jaraberutzu snorts, laying back in her seat. "Yeah, but I have the gut feeling that the person that we're facing…" Mario pauses for a second to take a turn.
"…Is a bit coocoo."
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Screams a voice from miles away. This startles Link into waking up and hitting poor Jaraberutzu in the head with his own. "MOBLIN!" He screeches. "Ow! What's wrong with you, Link?" She growls. "Oh, sorry. I was just wondering what that sound was." Link chuckles.
"Sounds like an old guy." Fi's voice resonates from the Master Sword. "Why do you always think it's an old guy?" Link mutters. "Because anyone older than me is an old guy. In conclusion, you're an old fart, Link."
"Screw you." Link growls. "Anytime you feel like it. I'll be in my room." Fi says in an alluring matter. "…No thanks." He says ultimately. "Call me old, huh? I'll show you old, you twinkle-toed backstreet jeggings spirit punk."
Mario notices in front of him that the sun had fallen rapidly upon entering a new road. This road was not paved with brick, but was completely metal instead. Neon lights came from above, and started flashing the entire street with bright shades of red, green and blue. Luckily, you can't get seizures from reading text, so this won't hurt your brains at all.
However, it did hurt Mario's head a bit. Geno then took the measure to switch with Mario, for he could not get dizzy from flashing lights. As a child, Geno watched many of his siblings turn into stars, and the lights were so much brighter than they are here. "…When this this happen? The sun went down REALLY fast." Geno wonders as he drives.
"Maybe the sun is scared. It's trying to tell us that we should be careful! Like, because I know that when the sun is down, it's scared!" Adelenn tells Geno. "I don't think that's it. The sun wasn't frowning in the slightest. It just disappeared for the moment." He replies. "But Genoooo, I saw it frown a while ago. It was REALLY sad." Adelenn replies back.
Everyone looks back at Adelenn. There was truth in her eye; she wasn't lying. "…We're in deep trouble." Patricia grunts.
In front of the heroes, there was a metal object peering out from the ground. They couldn't tell how big it was at the moment. "…What is THAT? I've never seen it before." Mario scratches his head as he tries to study this object. "Whoooooooooooa! It's like a giant metal box!" Adelenn squeaks happily. "I think it IS a giant metal box." Patricia states. "You guys can't possibly be telling me OH THAT'S A GIANT METAL BOX." Link says, astounded.
However, the heroes soon realize that what they were not looking at a giant metal box, albeit it was giant and metal, but had no appearance of a box. It was rectangular, and open on the top. In that opening was the source of all the lights Geno had seen beforehand. "Is that a clubhouse?" Geno wonders as they drive closer to it. "Clubhouse? That sounds amazing." Jaraberutzu remarks. Both Pokémon growl at her. Upon even more inspection, it was not a clubhouse, either.
It was a giant pinball machine suspended in the air. "HOLY HAMMER BROS. FROM 5-2." Lupo shouts aloud into Vivian's ear. "Owie…" Vivian replies with a frown. "That's… the Pinball Machine…? No way." Geno says in awe.
"And you tried to call me crazy." Mario mutters with a chuckle. The pinball machine was unlike any other. Despite being insanely large and floating, it was also bright and flashy for a pinball machine. None of the heroes were quite affected by these flashing lights after a few seconds of seeing them.
"There's so many pretty lights! I wanna touch 'em!" Adelenn smiles, attempting to grab at the lights. "It seems to be a pretty interesting place for a Crystal Sun to be… but how do we get up there? Shifting isn't going to help us; we're gonna have to fly up there somehow." Link says.
At that exact moment, everyone decides to look at Adelenn. "…What happened?" Adelenn asks quietly.
Literally seconds later, Adelenn, in her own two hands, carries all nine of the other heroes. They were not the least bit heavy to her, and didn't slow her down on her gentle stroll to the pinball machine. She was indeed flying, and with one wing, as well. "Wheee! I can fly!" Adelenn giggles happily as she soars into the sky. Her wingspan was very long, which meant Adelenn can glide easily.
Jaraberutzu flew on her own, since she was able to. Her crimson-red wings gleam in the sky. However, Adelenn's singular, black wing was hardly visible; one could not even see the details of her feathers. Jaraberutzu saw this and thought that it was ordinary.
Within a matter of minutes, the heroes land onto the top of the pinball machine. It was massive and they hardly took up any space in comparison. They were like dots of dirt on a large T-shirt that could fit Bowser.
"This… is gonna take a while." Geno mopes. Knowing how big it was, he was concerned that it would take them a long time to find the Crystal Sun. "Don't be sad, Geno! We ALWAYS find the Crystal Sun, even when we don't have it." Adelenn encourages Geno, and he smiles back. "Thanks, Ms. Optimism." He chuckles.
"Rar." RAWR points ahead of them. He spots a tunnel, which is actually a large spring launcher ahead of them. There was nowhere else to go. RAWR suggests that the path is linear. "Wow, RAWR! That's pretty smart. That makes finding this Crystal Sun easier if there's only one path!" Link states.
Vivian glides toward Mario and whispers into his ear in concern. "I don't get why Link is so calm about being in this area. It's painfully obvious that someone built this place, so who knows if they might have the Crystal Sun or not? And this linear path… it feels like a trap." She explains. Mario shrugs. "I couldn't tell ya. This is the only way we can go, so we have no choice." He replies, and continues to walk with the rest of the heroes. Nervous, Vivian clings tightly to Mario's arm.
Together, Adelenn and Link were exploring the tunnel as if they were small children. They would yell the usual shouts of "WHOA" and "COOL!" Whenever they saw something of interest. However, most of it was bright neon light. "Awww, man! Pat, can you buy me a blacklight for Christmas?" Link squeaks happily.
"Not until you're older." Patricia mutters. "AWWW." Link whines. Amazed by how much Link was fooled, Geno shakes his head in confusion. "Wait, what? He's like, ninet-"
"You're on timeout, Geno." Patricia chuckles. "DARN IT!" Geno growls as he kicks a rock further into the tunnel.
When he does so, a clicking sound can be heard. The rock had pressed a button when Geno kicked it. "…What was that?" Jaraberutzu states. "Does anybody else feel a rumbling sensation? 'cuz it's not my di-"
"LL PICKLES!" Lupo shouts carefully. "I feel something, and it's pretty big. And it's… it's rolling." Lupo feels the ground for the source of the rumbling. It was rumbling with the power of a Magnitude 9. It was round, smooth, and polished. And it was heading right for the heroes.
"Did anyone just notice now that we're in A PINBALL MACHINE!?" Link shouts loudly. "DUDE DID YOU SERIOUSLY SLEEP THROUGH THAT?!" Mario bonks Link on the head with a hammer.
It was a pinball, but one the size of a boulder. It was rolling extremely fast, and the heroes could see it from afar. "Sol!" Soulola growls, and Shifts out of the way, and into Link's arms. She continues to bark at the giant pinball until it goes away.
"That wasn't too bad. All it did was send out a big pinball." Link smiles in relief. Soulola pushes her head under his hand so that he can pet her, and so he does. "Raw Rawr Rar Rawr." RAWR asks Adelenn. "I dunno why it came. I wasn't paying attention, RAWR." Adelenn states. "Uhhhhh… When can I eat a sandwich? I'm HUNGRY."
Soon, more rumbling occurs, but the heroes cannot determine how powerful it is. "Whoa… this is different." Link states calmly, not being shaken by the rumbling when some of the other heroes have. "It's strong, but who knows how strong it-"
Jaraberutzu turns around and gasps in shock. They saw another pinball.
That was the size of a mountain. "OH SNAP." Jaraberutzu squeals, and begins to run for her life, grabbing Link in the process. "Run, run as fast as you can! THAT PINBALL'S GONNA KICK OUR FANS!" She rhymes in paranoia.
Unfortunately, Jaraberutzu did not gauge the distance between the heroes and the pinball correctly, and is instead hit furiously by the rapidly spinning pinball. However, since the heroes were incredibly strong, they were not crushed.
Instead, they were practically glued onto the pinball. "Uhhh, guys!? Why are we on a pinball!?" Link shouts over the sound of the roaring wind as they speed forward. Nobody answers him. "…Guys!?" He asks again. Everyone was too busy screaming their lungs out, either out of fear or excitement.
"Wheeeeee! This is so fuuuun!" Adelenn smiles, clapping her hands together. "I'M GONNA PEE MY PANTS!" Lupo screeches. Luckily, she was able to hold in her urine for longer than she expected, and continued to roll down the hill.
All of them were very confused. How did a pinball of that size sneak up to them? Mario especially was confused. "This pinball is glued! H-how!?" The ball would not stop rolling even though it was smothered in glue. Its only purpose was to trap the heroes.
"Yaaaay! More, more, MORE!" Adelenn squeals, accidentally hitting her fist onto the pinball. It shatters into thousands of pieces and stops the heroes dead in their tracks. "Ow…" Mario rubs his head from hitting his head violently into the floor. "You could've done that the whole time, Adelenn!? Why didn't you?" Lupo shouts at Adelenn, who begins to cower. "U-uh, I didn't know!" She frowns.
Luck was most definitely on the side of the heroes; they were at the end of the mile-long tunnel. However, it was only the beginning of the absurd, the beginning of the insurmountably crazy; it was just the beginning of this ginormous pinball machine.
Immediately, they're put into the warzone of giant pinballs. Some are the size of boulders, and the rest were mountain-sized. They were going at speeds that would put common vehicles to shame. "…Now that I think about it…" Geno wonders.
"I've never seen a place quite like this." He finishes as soon as two pinballs collide with each other and smash themselves to bits. In all of the Mushroom Kingdom, this was one of the most unique places to be, even though it's as simplistic as a pinball machine.
"I still can't remember who made this place! Who was it? Who was it…?" Mario wonders as he punches a pinball into oblivion with his fist. "Wa, Wa, WAAAAAAAAAAA!" Screams a voice on adjacent loud speakers. "Hm… still can't remember. Even with that oddly familiar screech…"
"Absol sol Sol." Soulola tells Link about the layout of the pinball machine. This one was particularly heavy in bumpers. Almost everywhere they looked, there were bumpers for pinballs to collide into. "So it's one of these pinball machines, Soulola? Good job!" Link smiles, praising Soulola with a kiss on the nose. "Wait… how do you know about pinball machines? You're only two month old."
She simply states that Rosalina told her about it. "That explains a lot." Link says in monotone. Looking at the pinballs again, he wonders how to traverse carefully. Upon destroying the last pinball, more appeared in its place; some were even on fire. "This is slightly overpowered for pinballs." Geno mentions.
"You think? I've been logging these giant pinballs, and they're native to this place. They don't appear anywhere else." Vivian mentions while skimming the Tattle Log. "The name of this place is unknown, though. This is an unfinished Tattle Log, anyway."
"Why is it that whenever we need to find something, it's obscurely hidden?" Mario sighs. Vivian shrugs and continues to scan the Tattle Log for any useful information. "…Huh. That's strange. The page directly in front of it is a picture of some anorexic guy who's like, 8 feet tall and 45 pounds. He also wears purple clothes, but that doesn't seem important." She explains.
"…" Mario pauses for a second. He stopped moving to think about what Vivian had said about the man. It was as if he knew about who she was talking about. "Is… is that who I think it i-"
All of a sudden, someone had Shifted right next to Mario's right ear. It wasn't any of the heroes.
"Waaaaaaa." The person whispers in his ear softly while grabbing Mario's hat.
Mario gulps.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX END.